Mich. Supreme Court hears medical marijuana case

The Michigan Supreme Court heard oral arguments Thursday in one of the most significant legal issues since voters approved medical marijuana — the legality of dispensaries.

The justices are faced with a case that involves the shops where people with medical marijuana cards sell homegrown pot to people who don’t grow their own.

But the state appeals court last year said there’s nothing in the 2008 law that allows a Mount Pleasant shop to let its members sell marijuana to each other.

“The act clearly delineates two methods in which a qualified patient may obtain their marijuana — they may grow it themselves or they may designate a caregiver to grow it for them,” said Isabella County Prosecutor Risa Scully.

Mary Chartier, a lawyer representing dispensary operators, said the medical marijuana law is silent on dispensaries, so they should be allowed.

“It’s one sick person to another, and I believe that voters when they went — and 63 percent said yes — recognized that sick people would need to acquire their medical marijuana from somewhere,” Chartier said.

In a related case, the operator of a growing cooperative in Grand Rapids is fighting charges that he violated the medical marijuana’s 12-plant limit.

The state Senate is considering changes aimed at clarifying the voter-approved law, and the bills could come to a vote by year’s end. Versions of them have already passed the state House.

One bill seeks to better define the type of doctor-patient relationship needed before medical marijuana use could be certified. Another would let law enforcement officers obtain medical marijuana patient information.